North Carolina’s failure to stop dribblers is one of the main reasons opponents are shooting 34.7 percent from 3-point range against the Tar Heels. That ranks North Carolina in the bottom half of the ACC in that statistic.

Stopping penetration isn’t as easy as it sounds. According to Williams, North Carolina played a sagging man-to-man defense to prevent penetration in Dean Smith’s final years and throughout Bill Guthridge’s tenure.

But Williams said Smith and Guthridge weren’t happy with the results, and Williams wants to pressure the passing lanes to create turnovers. That leaves opponents with driving lanes. The key is learning to cut off those lanes more quickly.

“The way we play means that people are going to drive us,” Williams said, “so that’s the thing we’ve got to get better at.”

Despite his angry outburst after Nicholls State made 14 three-pointers in an 88-78 Tar Heel win on Wednesday, Williams is trying to stay patient. Though Thursday’s practice was among the most difficult Lawson has experienced in two seasons at North Carolina, nobody puked during the workout. (Williams had said his goal was to see how many players he could get to “throw up” during Thursday’s practice).

His real goal remains improving North Carolina’s defense enough for the Tar Heels to contend for a national title.

“I’ve never seen a bad defensive team in the Final Four,” he said. “They’ve got to understand that. I never have. Never.”

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About this blog

David Scott has been with the Observer for 28 years and has written about ACC, SEC and other college sports in the Charlotte region. He covers Wake Forest, South Carolina and college soccer for the Observer and (Raleigh) News & Observer.

J.P. Giglio covers the ACC for the News & Observer, where he has worked since 1997, and the Observer.

Andrew Carter covers the North Carolina Tar Heels for the Observer and News & Observer.

Laura Keeley covers the Duke Blue Devils for the Observer and News & Observer. Follow her on Twitter.

Chip Alexander covers the Carolina Hurricanes and college football for the News & Observer, where he has worked since 1979, and the Observer.

Luke DeCock has worked for The News & Observer since 2000. He covered the Carolina Hurricanes and the NHL before becoming a sports columnist for the Observer and News & Observer in August 2008.

Tim Crothers is an author and former senior writer at Sports Illustrated who is joining the sports staff to write a regular column during the rest of the college basketball season.